Nature is the grandest show on earth and we humble humans have to look after nature to look after ourselves. Greenspaces, gardens, woods and parks have offered sanctuary to many over the past few months and have been a welcome source of joy and escape in an otherwise challenging time.

Throughout, bumblebees have continued in their search for nectar, unaware of the current situation, or that a larger number of people have been watching them buzz from flower to flower. We need our bumblebees more than ever to play their part in pollinating the many crops that provide us with food to eat and the colourful flowers in our landscape. That is why our team has been working even harder than normal over the past few months to ensure that our current supporters, and these new audiences that have only just discovered the wonder of bumblebees, remain captivated once lockdown eases and the distractions of normal daily life begin to take hold once more. We have, and continue to develop new ways of working to ensure that people can still support bumblebees in the changed landscape ahead. We have developed new educational resources, such as our new bee ID app and YouTube tutorials, to engage audiences online, and our conservation team has continued to support landowners from a distance to ensure that vital habitat works for bumblebees can continue without delay. This has included working with partners to develop a 10-year conservation strategy to ensure one of the UKs rarest bees, the Shrill carder bee, not only survives, but thrives.

The positive difference we have made for bumblebees has only been possible thanks to your support and past donations. To allow us to continue to have an impact, and support our staff and volunteers in the uncertain months ahead, we need to fundraise £50,000 this year. I hope you can help towards our goal by donating today. Your support has been unwavering over the years and more so during the past few challenging months. With your help I am confident, together we will reach our goal.

I leave you with my final thought; without the bumblebees bee-free service, many wildflowers and the animals and ecosystems which depend on them could decline dramatically or even disappear altogether, but we can act now to take care of nature and emerge stronger together.

With many thanks

Gill Perkins , Chief Executive Officer